IN THIS EDITION:
- Highlights
- Treaty Bodies Review, Geneva
- Activities in the Past Weeks
- Upcoming Activities
- IDA Members
- UN System, Agencies and Mechanism
- Other
- Job Offers
1. HIGHLIGHTS
TECHNICAL WORKSHOP ON SDGs REPORT WRITING
- The International Disability Alliance (IDA) hosted a Technical Workshop on SDGs for all IDA members from all regions across the world from 4-6 February, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The 3 day workshop brought together past, current and future report writers, along with partners and experts, to exchange challenges and best practices, further develop technical skills, and strategise the dissemination and use of the report after finalization to increase knowledge and capacity of SDG implementation in line with the CRPD. The 18 participants representing DPOs from 13 countries from 5 regions of the world brought with them a wide range of experience and information on the SDGs implementation in their countries and regions. IDA’s work on building the capacity of DPOs to report on SDGs has been supported by DFID as part of the Catalyst project. More information here.
OPINION PIECE IN DEVEX: 2019-THE YEAR WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND?
- Vladimir Cuk, Executive Director of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and Dominic Haslam, Director of Policy and Program Strategy at Sightsavers write for Devex on why 2019 promises to be a huge year in global development, and the potential to change lives of millions of persons with disabilities in developing countries. Read the opinion piece here.
2. TREATY BODIES REVIEWS, GENEVA
- The 40th session of the Human Rights Council will be held from 25 February to 22 March, 2019. Among other items on the agenda (see the agenda here), the Council will consider and adopt the final outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review of Saudi Arabia, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Mauritius, Jordan, Malaysia, the Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, the Congo and Malta. More details here.
- The 21st Session of the CRPD Committee will take place from 11 March to 5 April 2019 in Geneva. More details here.
- The 11th Pre-Sessional Working Group of the CRPD Committee will take place in Geneva from 8-11 April 2019. More details here.
- The Treaty Body Unit of the International Disability Alliance (IDA) has prepared an update on the activities and potential opportunities for IDA. For details, please click here.
3. ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST WEEKS
- Call to join the Disability Data Advocacy Working Group: As part of IDA’s advocacy on disability data, a listserv has been created to serve as a moderated platform of exchange of information about disability data webinars, online learning opportunities, and periodical newsletters. Members of the listserv are encouraged to raise any issues, make suggestions, and to communicate with one another. The listserv is open to all who are interested in engaging in the disability data dialogue. To learn how to join the listserv, please click here.
- The Disability Data Advocacy Working Group issued its first newsletter in January 2019. This contains important updates, resources, blogs, news and upcoming activities. Read and contribute to the newsletter here.
- HLPF Webinar Series: A webinar titled ‘Are persons with disabilities included in your national SDG plan?” and was held on 23 January 2019. This webinar discussed ways for persons with disabilities and their representative organisations to engage in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and the High Level Political Forum (HLPF). For more information on HLPF webinar series please email at hlpf2019 [at] ida-secretariat.org.
- The Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities organised the first webinar in the Disability Data webinar series titled ‘Collecting data on persons with disabilities in humanitarian action’ on 31 January, 2019. Humanity & Inclusion hosted this. For more information on the webinar series please email at hlpf2019 [at] ida-secretariat.org.
- IDA Women with Disabilities Flagship reviewed the “disability needs assessment” to evaluate gaps, opportunities and needs of the UN Women Regional Office of the Arab States (ROAS). After the ROAS and country office return the survey, this will be used to develop the agenda and objectives of the capacity building training, which is likely to happen from 20-24 April 2019. For more information, please click here and here.
FEBRUARY
- Webinar on ‘Practical guidance on gathering and analysing data’ on 27 February 2019. Click here to register.
- The World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (WNUSP) will be organising a capacity building workshop in Rwanda from 18-21 February 2019.
- The World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB) will be organising a workshop in Peru on the situation of persons with deafblindness from 20-21 February 2019.
MARCH
- The 2nd Technical Workshop of the Education Flagship will be held in Nepal from March 11-14, 2019.
- WFDB will be organising a workshop on their recently released global report on the status of rights of persons with deafblindness in Nepal on 17-18 March, 2019.
- The Bridge ToT Module A in French and Portuguese will be organised in Geneva from 8-11 March, 2019, alongside the next session of the CRPD Committee.
APRIL
- The IDA Programme Committee meeting will be organized from 1-4 April, 2019 in Madrid, Spain.
- The IDA Board meeting will be organized from 5 to 10 April, 2019 location in Madrid, Spain.
- The Bridge Steering Committee will meet in Spain on 5 April, 2019.
- The Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action will have a workshop in Spain from 5-11 April, 2019.
- The IDA Women with Disabilities Flagship will conduct a capacity building workshop for UN Women in Cairo, Egypt 20-24 April, 2019 (tbc).
- A meeting of the GLAD Network will be held in Ottawa, Canada from 30 April to 2 May, 2019.
MAY
- The first Module of the Bridge CRPD-SDGs training cycle will be organized in Tanzania from 6-16 May, 2019.
JUNE
- The 12th Conference of States Parties to the CRPD will be held at the UN headquarters in New York from 11-13 June, 2019. More details here.
JULY
- What's coming up at the High-Level Political Forum 2019? The 2019 High-level Political Forum will highlight the Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8, 10, 13, 16, 17 around the theme of 'Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’. Fifty-one countries will conduct Voluntary National Reviews during the last three days of the session. Learn more about the HLPF here. To know about the participation and engagement of the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities here.
5. IDA MEMBERS
DOWN SYNDROME INTERNATIONAL
- To commemorate World Down Syndrome Day on 21 March, 2019, Down Syndrome International (DSi) is launching a call to action for every person with Down Syndrome to tell the world to “leave no one behind”. Leading up to that, DSi will be sending a series of emails to keep people informed about how they can get involved. More details here.
EUROPEAN DISABILITY FORUM
- The European Disability Forum (EDF) launched a call for good practices on ‘Employment for young persons with disabilities’. Deadline to apply was 31 January, 2019. Applications will be shortlisted by EDF’s Youth Committee, who alongside EDF’s Executive Committee will select the final participants. The chosen candidates will be invited to join EDF in Bucharest at their conference on employment that will take place on 23 March, 2019. More details here.
- Leading up to the elections for the European Parliament to be held from 23-26 May, 2019, EDF has launched a campaign to ensure that the next European Parliament is a friend of the disability movement. More details here.
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR SPINA BIFIDA AND HYDROCEPHALUS
- The International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF) has launched a questionnaire on sexuality and body awareness of people with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SBH). The questionnaire was created by a group of young people with SBH and coordinated by IF. The aim of the questionnaire is to build up a solid basis of evidence on what is important for young persons with SBH about their sexuality and body awareness in order to continue working on the topic. The questionnaire will take around 15 minutes to complete and it is available in English, Italian, Spanish and Turkish. Read more here.
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
- World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) published a a year-end message from President Colin Allen, with the English Text available on the website https://wfdeaf.org/news/2018-wfd-end-year-message/; to highlight key achievements of the global Deaf community. You can watch the video here.
- World Federation of the Deaf and World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) have announced the implementation of a new procedure, that of a joint WFD-WASLI Accredited International Sign Language Interpreter Professional Conduct Review Process (WFD-WASLI PCRP). Read the new procedure. The PCRP, formed by the boards of WFD and WASLI, will manage the review processes and will provide a mechanism for those who have a common concern about a WFD-WASLI International Sign Interpreter’s professional conduct. There are several options beginning with encouraging the parties to deal with the concern directly, to lodging a formal complaint. Such a process ensures that interpreters will continue to comply with the high ethical standards necessary for international work, and that should there be disputes, these will be handled in a professional manner and is supportive and fair. More details here.
6. UN SYSTEM, AGENCIES AND MECHANISM
- UNVA & UNFPA young innovators fellowship programme: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are partnering on a Young Innovators Fellowship Programme for 2019. This programme will provide young people (aged 18-29) with the opportunity to engage in a structured programme to drive innovation, creativity and to deliver concrete results in UNFPA. The fellowship programme provides an opportunity to bring 14 young people into UNFPA with a dedicated focus on both providing a youth perspective and driving innovation. Selected fellows will join UNFPA headquarters in New York for two months. Two of the Young Innovators will remain as international UNVs for a further six months at UNFPA headquarters. The other 12 will return to their home countries where they will complete the six-month national UNV assignment in UNFPA country offices. Read more and apply here.
- Update on CSW 63: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63) will take place in the UN headquarters in New York from 11-22 March, 2019. This year’s priority theme is “Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls”. The review theme is “Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development (agreed conclusions of the sixtieth session)”. The two-week schedule from 11-22 March, 2019 can be found here. If you have any questions please reach out to Megan Smith msmith [at] ida-secretariat.org.
- Transnational NGO Leadership Institute: Applications to the 2019 Transnational NGO Leadership Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is now open. This is a five-day intensive and interdisciplinary programme designed for global NGO professionals to gain skills to make the next leadership “leap”. There are two partial scholarships available for qualified candidates, that will award on a rolling basis through 15 February, 2019. More information, click here.
- Applications for Early Stage Researchers (ESRs): Applications are now invited for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in a new Marie Curie Network focused on Disability Advocacy Research. Each researcher will work on a different topic based in one of eight universities and non-governmental organisations across Europe, and be supervised for preparation of a Ph.D. The ESRs will receive training in law, disability studies, public and social policy and related disciplines, as well as opportunities to put their skills into practice through secondment opportunities at partner organisations. Detailed eligibility criteria and more information here.
- MNI funding open: Applications are now being sought by Mill Neck International that works with Deaf communities around the world for their 2019 funding cycle. The application deadline is 1 April, 2019. More information about the application process, in English and international sign language, and application forms here.
- International Disability Alliance (IDA) seeks an Inclusive Development Project Officer, responsible for ensuring the timely and quality implementation of specific IDA projects or IDA components of broader inclusive development projects, with a focus on inclusive education, inclusive livelihoods and inclusive health. These projects and initiatives aimed at advancing the effective realisation of the rights of all persons with disabilities, in compliance with the CRPD. They require high degrees of collaboration with a diverse range of development stakeholders, DPOs and other partners. Deadline: 22 February 2019. Read more and apply.
- The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Task Team on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action through the support of the International Disability Alliance (IDA), seeks a consultant to support the preparation, logistics and roll out of a series of simultaneous regional validation workshops (8 – 11 April, 2019) as well as to assist in the development of a finalization plan and launch activities for the future IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. Deadline for applications is 12 February, 2019. For more details, please click here.
- USAID is recruiting a consultant to work with the Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) in Armenia on improving inclusive education (IE) for children with disabilities. The consultant will be based at the MOES and work with the assigned Deputy Minister of Education and Science in charge of IE reform implementation and coordination. Read more and apply.
- UNICEF is inviting proposals for Inclusive Ethos Initiative in Partnership with UNICEF Malaysia Corporate Partner. Deadline for submissions: 28 February, 2019. Read more and submit.
- WOMEN ENABLED INTERNATIONAL (WEI) is accepting applications for a U.N. Advocacy Consultant to provide parental leave coverage for WEI’s U.N. Advocacy Director from 1 May, 2019 to mid-December 2019. This is a part-time, temporary consulting position for 20-30 hours per week. WEI is located in Washington D.C. and in New York City. Consultant could be based in another location but must be willing and able to travel to New York or Washington D.C. as needed. Deadline is 15 March, 2019. Applications should be sent to Personnel [at] WomenEnabled.org.
- VALIDITY FOUNDATION (formerly the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre, MDAC) is looking for a full-time Litigation Officer to join their team in Budapest. The successful candidate will be responsible for enhancing the organisation’s ability to create meaningful change for people with mental disabilities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Litigation Officer will be responsible for creating an impact in the field under each of the organisation’s three campaigns using litigation in collaboration with advocacy staff and partners towards the same ends. Applications in English should be sent to validity [at] validity.ngo by 17:00 CET, 25 February, 2019. The subject line of the email should read “Application: Litigation Officer”. Read more and apply here.
- DISABILITY RIGHTS FUND (together with its sister organisation, the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund) is seeking an experienced, dynamic and committed Deputy Director (DD) to work closely with the Executive Director. The DD will have the primary responsibility of the management of all operational and HR-related tasks. He/she will also surpervise and support the Finance Director, Grants Manager, and Program Director. The DD will be a member of DRF’s Management Team, currently comprising the Executive Director, the Development Director, the Finance Director, the Grants Manager, and the Program Director, and will organise and chair its meetings. Deadline to apply is 28 February, 2019. Read more and apply here.